AERIS LEGACY
by PrincessFlorea
Summary: An old enemy will arise, and two descendants of the Ancients must defeat him. By the title, you can probably guess who. Chapters 8,9
1. Prologue

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Prologue_   
*** *** *** ***

A girl in pink was praying somewhere.   
Up from nowhere, a silver haired man descended, heaving the slim blade of his sword through her.   
Though wounded, the girl did not cry out.   
The man with long silver hair raised his head and smirked at another man, who had spiky blond hair. The silver haired slid his blade out of the pink-clad girl. She collapsed in the arms of the blond man.   
As the girl died, her lips moved, but no words came. _I left two..._ she seemed to have said. 

***   
_[half a year ago]_

The scientist, Shinra's genius. He stood at the counter staring into a phial. It was labeled "Jenova." Also on the counter were two 'jars.' The jars were connected with wires and plugged into a screen where they could be monitored.   
Taking the greatest care, Professor Hojo poured the contents of the phial into a third jar. This jar was connected to the other two by clear tubes.   
The experiment had been a success. Hojo smiled as "Jenova" slowly dripped. Aloud he said, "The Jenova Generation has come." 

*** *** *** *** 

I'll leave you to wonder what the #^#@ the Jenova Generation is. 


	2. Enter Airis

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter One: Enter Airis_   
*** *** *** ***

_A girl in pink was praying somewhere._   
_ Up from nowhere, a silver haired man descended, heaving the slim blade of his sword through her._   
_ Though wounded, the girl did not cry out._   
_ The man with long silver hair raised his head and smirked at another man, who had spiky blond hair. The silver haired slid his blade out of the pink-clad girl. She collapsed in the arms of the blond man._   
_ As the girl died, her lips moved, but no words came. _I left two... _she seemed to have said._

A silver haired girl sat up in bed. She'd been having this dream for a week. It always ended like that. But two _what?_   
A blonde woman in a dark blue uniform came into the room. "Airis, it's time to get up." She seemed saddened.   
"Yes, Mom." The girl, Airis said.   
The uniformed woman left. Airis slowly got dressed, in a pink tank top, black jacket, and black miniskirt with black boots to match. She braided her hair and tied it with a pink ribbon.   
In the kitchen, her mother had made breakfast. Airis looked around her surroundings, taking care to include everything. Her eyes fell on the third chair at the table. Her father... but not her real father. Nor was the woman she called 'Mom' her real mother.   
"Mom," Airis said tentatively, "After I leave, are you sure, you'll be all right?"   
"I'll be fine, Airis. There's no need to worry."   
They ate in silence the rest of the while. Finally Airis got up and cleared the table, leaving the dishes in the sink to soak in the soapy water.   
Supposed mother and daughter walked out of the small flat. They walked down to the station, where they took the rail to the Shinra Headquarters.   
After flashing their IDs, they headed to one of the upper floors on the elevator.   
A man with reddish-brownish hair and a slightly wrinkled suit was standing in front of the elevator when they got out, absentmindedly chewing on a melting candy bar. He looked sheepish when they stepped out, and hastily shoved the candy into one of his trouser pockets. "Ah... Elena and Airis..."   
"Reno." Elena acknowledged the man coolly.   
Airis, on the other hand, went over and gave Reno a hug, calling him "Uncle Reno."   
The three walked down the hall, Airis in the middle, to the Shinra meeting room.   
In the meeting room, President Rufus, Scarlet, Heidegger, Reeve, and Rude were gathered.   
They looked up when the trio entered and sat down.   
Rufus gave a short informal 'speech,' as did the others. Finally it was over.   
"May you have the best of luck." Rufus said. Airis nodded.   
As they prepared to leave, everyone patted her shoulder, hugged her, or something similar, wishing her good luck on her journey.   
Reno, Rude, and Elena, whom Airis called Mom, made up the Turks, and they accompanied her to the weapon rooms to pick up her weapon.   
It was a sword, and quite a large one at that, being almost as tall as Airis was. Rude and Reno had taught her how to use it. They called it a 'Buster Sword' and it lived up to its name, busting almost everything it went through.   
Airis said her good-byes to Rude and Reno, then she and Elena went by themselves to the train that would take them out of Midgar.   
Here at the station, Airis asked Elena a question that had been lingering in her mind. "Mom... please, tell me, what happened to Dad?"   
Elena sighed, "Must you know?"   
"Please? And yes, I have to know."   
Elena sat down at the nearest bench. Airis sat next to her. "It was a while ago... maybe a few years ago, the Turks were assigned to capture a terrorist group called AVALANCHE. We chased them across three continents. Finally, Tseng—you foster father—and I, went to the Temple of the Ancients, which back then was still standing. I left him for a few minutes to search another part of the Temple, and came back, but he was gone. I decided to wait for him outside of the Temple.   
From my line of sight, the Temple collapsed, and AVALANCHE was standing at its entrance. I was absolutely sure they'd killed him. But... there was this time at Icicle Inn up North, a few weeks later, it was just me. I saw him there, the man who killed Tseng. He said, no, it wasn't him, it was the General Sephiroth. I punched him out, saying he was lying; Sephiroth was dead.   
Now... I don't know... because after that happened, President Rufus himself saw the General Sephiroth at the Northern Crater." Elena stared at the ground. "And that also leads to why I didn't exactly like your choice of weapon; the AVALANCHE man, he had that weapon."   
"..." Airis looked at her sword. "What did they look like? Sephiroth and the AVALANCHE man?"   
"Sephiroth... I don't really know, but he was very strong. I think he had long hair, maybe white or silver? I don't know about the eyes or anything else. The one from AVALANCHE, on the other hand, his name was Cloud. Cloud Strife. Blond spiky hair, blue eyes that glowed—he had been exposed to Mako—, a purple uniform..." Elena trailed off.   
Airis sensed Elena was crying, but Elena had her face hidden. Airis sighed.   
A whistle sounded. "The train's here." Elena said. "You'd better go."   
Airis walked toward the train. As she turned to wave goodbye, Elena stood in front of her with slightly reddened eyes. "In your bag, I put something in there. Good luck Airis; I'm really going to miss you."   
The silver-haired girl boarded the train. She looked at Elena through the glass window and saw her crying.   
The train whistle screamed and they were off.   
Airis waved at Elena until she could no longer see her. 

*** *** *** *** *Airis is pronounced "Iris".   
*Rufus is still alive. 


	3. Enter Aeros

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter Two: Enter Aeros_   
*** *** *** ***

_A girl in pink was praying somewhere._   
_ Up from nowhere, a silver haired man descended, heaving the slim blade of his sword through her._   
_ Though wounded, the girl did not cry out._   
_ The man with long silver hair raised his head and smirked at another man, who had spiky blond hair. The silver haired slid his blade out of the pink-clad girl. She collapsed in the arms of the blond man._   
_ As the girl died, her lips moved, but no words came. _I left two... _she seemed to have said._

A brown haired boy sat up in his bunk. He'd been having this dream for a week. It always ended like that. But two _what?_   
A muscular man with a red face and red hair, in a red uniform to 'match' his complexion strode into the room. "GOOD MORNING, MEN!!!"   
The others in the room quickly sat up and yelled, "GOOD MORNING, SIR!!!"   
The unfortunate ones who overslept were roughly roused by the loud banging of a metal trash can.   
They all quickly dressed in their uniforms and marched down to the mess hall.   
"HURRY YAR SLOW MOVING ASSES!!" Sir yelled at them.   
As the brown haired boy walked past him, Sir muttered, "Aeros, I really don't know how you got to be First Class; you're so damn slow."   
Aeros gave Sir a mental glare and a string of some very nice words under his breath. He also saved some for the food, which did not resemble food at all, but a lump of wiggly tan stuff.   
As Aeros sat down wondering if anyone had died from this before, a massive shadow fell over him. A large man sat down next to him. "Hi Rotundo." Aeros said. Rotundo returned the greeting and clapped Aeros on the back of the head, sending him face first into his oatmeal.   
Sir had to come by at that exact time. He yanked on Aeros' short ponytail, which was at the nape of his neck.   
Aeros yelled and sat up straight, his face covered in goop. Sir shook a finger in Aeros' face. "WAKE UP, SOLDIER!!! I AIN'T GONNA HAVE YOU FALLING ASLEEP HERE!!!"   
Sir walked away, muttering something about stupid soldiers.   
"Geez, I'm really sorry," Rotundo said apologetically. "I didn't know Sir was gonna come over."   
"It's okay." Aeros muttered. "Sir hates me. I'm glad to be leaving today." He wiped the caked oatmeal off his face, and stared at its counterpart in his bowl.   
"Hey, are you going to eat that?"   
"Go ahead." Aeros pushed the object of his disgust towards Rotundo.   
As they were dismissed, Aeros turned left out of the mess hall as everyone else went right.   
He walked to the office. The spiky haired SOLDIER slapped a few papers down on the desk in front of the secretary. "I'm leaving."   
The secretary nodded and shuffled through the papers.   
Aeros left the office and hurried to the bunks where he gathered up his few belongings in a bag. He changed from his SOLDIER uniform into a black jacket with a dark green t-shirt underneath and baggy black pants. On his feet were the same brown boots.   
Doing a mental check, he hurried to the weapon rooms. On the rack was his Saber Blade. A long slim sword, almost as tall as he was. He sliced the air for practice, then sheathed the sword over his back.   
As Aeros stepped outside the building into the sunlight, the door behind him swung shut and then opened again. He turned around and saw Sir.   
Sir leaned against the door. He looked Aeros up and down. "Leaving, eh?"   
"Yeah."   
"You know," Sir said, lighting up a cigarette, "This place is probably going to be pretty boring after you leave."   
Aeros blinked. _What?_   
"Well, I won't keep ya." Sir flicked the cigarette at Aeros' feet. "Good luck."   
Aeros stared through the door at the departing figure, then shook his head and turned away. 

*** *** *** *** *Aeros is pronounced "Air-oh-ss".   
I really hope I didn't take anyone's ideas. THIS IS AN ORIGINAL FROM ME. ().() 


	4. Leaving X Kalm X Ain't Love

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter Three_   
_Leaving × Kalm × Ain't Love_   
*** *** *** ***

Airis looked through the bag. She discovered what Elena had put in it, a thick book. It was people to watch out for, escaped criminals and gangs. Circled in red was the name AVALANCHE.   
There were other things. No wonder her bag had been heavier than usual. Airis found a Titan Bangle, and to her surprise, four Materia: Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Restore.   
Airis had learned to use Materia before, but she'd never had any of her own.   
She got off at the last stop.   
Airis walked through the Sector Five gate. To the north were the mountains. The seas were in the south and west, so she headed east.   
Surprisingly, there were machines out here in the open. Airis obliterated them with Bolt.   
Going a little further, there were thieves. Airis ran away as fast as possible. She turned to the northeast and saw a town.   
Curious, she ran towards it. 

***

Aeros left Midgar, the only home he'd ever known behind.   
He saw the sea and the mountains. Walking a little to the east, there was a town.   
Maybe he could get directions there. Aeros entered the town.   
It was called Kalm. Living up to its name, the town was calm and peaceful. In the square, there were a few people talking or walking around.   
Aeros saw a girl in pink and black walking toward him. He made up his mind to talk to her. "Uh... hi."   
"Hello." She said. "You're blocking the exit."   
Aeros looked behind him, his face turning red. "Sorry. Do you know the way past the mountains?"   
"Hm?" The girl looked surprised. "Go east, and south. There's a swamp. Past the swamp is a cave, and then you're done, if you can get through the abandoned Mythril Mines."   
"Thanks." Aeros said.   
"Um... 'scuse me... you're still blocking the exit."   
Aeros moved and the girl ran out. 

***

_Okay, that guy was a bit of an idiot_, Airis thought, running eastwards.   
She drew her Buster Sword and hacked down two enemies. _Brown spiky hair..._ Airis turned to face west. The mountains obscured her view of Midgar. _...Those really cool green eyes..._   
Ahead there was a...farm?   
Airis decided not to go there yet. She went around the farm to fight some other beasts, namely killer birds and some walking tufts of grass. _...kind of like my own..._   
"What is this?" Airis said to the grass. "Why is my mind constantly around that guy?"   
_ It's not love..._   
_ It's something I've never heard of..._   
_ What...?_

***

_Whoa, that was some girl_, Aeros thought, buying some potions from the shop in Kalm.   
He left the town, going east and cutting down enemies with his Saber Blade. _Long silver hair..._ The mountains blocked his view of what lay ahead. _...Those glow-y green eyes..._   
He saw the swamp and...something swimming in it.   
Better not go there yet. He ran around the mountains, looking for monsters to fight, like the mechanical spiders and weird things that seemed to be tails with no bodies. _...Kind of like my own..._   
"What is this?" Aeros said to the mountains. "Why am I even thinking about her?"   
_ It's not love..._   
_ It's something I've never heard of..._   
_ What...?_

*** *** *** ***


	5. Aeros X Encounter X Airis

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter Four_   
_Aeros × Encounter × Airis_   
*** *** *** ***

Aeros noted the sun setting behind the mountains. He kept his forward pace, hoping to find a place of shelter before night fell.   
In the darkening distance, he saw the welcoming orange glow of a fire.   
Inching closer, Aeros saw a figure sitting by the fire, and the outline of a small tent.   
He decided to talk to whomever it was.   
Aeros approached. 

***

Airis heard the rustling sound of footsteps in the tall grass. She quickly sprang to her feet and drew her sword. "Who's there?   
I'm warning you, I'm armed!"   
"Just a tired traveler." Someone answered. "I mean no harm."   
"Step into the light where I can see you."   
The footsteps came closer and the first thing Airis saw were a pair of glowing green eyes. As the person fully appeared in the   
firelight, she recognized him as the guy from Kalm who had asked for directions.   
"I saw the fire, and was sort of curious." The person said.   
Airis nodded slightly. "If you come in peace, I guess you can sit down."   
He obliged. "So." Airis asked him, "What's your name, where do you come from, and why do you keep following me?"   
"My name is Aeros. I'm a First Class SOLDIER and I decided to leave for a while to see the world. It's purely coincidence   
that you're going in the same direction."   
"Well... I'm Airis. That spelled A-I-R-I-S. Also from Shinra, but I'm no SOLDIER. I was raised by the Turks. I left to find   
my real parents."   
"How are you going to do that?"   
"Dunno. Haven't thought about it." Airis stared into the fire, wondering how she could've skipped that.   
Aeros was silent for a minute. Then he said, "I really don't have anything else to do, so if you don't mind, I'd like to help you   
search."   
They were both silent. "Serious?" Airis asked him.   
"Serious." More silence.   
"Do...do you have parents?"   
Aeros started. "I..."   
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."   
"I don't know..." Aeros finally said.   
Airis raised a brow.   
"I've been in SOLDIER for as long as I can remember..."   
There was a long uncomfortable silence. Airis broke it by rummaging around in her bag. "Want something to eat?"   
"No thanks." Aeros said. "I have stuff here." He gestured to his own rucksack.   
"'kay then."   
Airis got up to go to her tent. "I trust you have your own tent?"   
"Yeah."   
She shook a finger in his direction. "If I catch you in mine, you're really gonna get it."   
"Don't worry." 

*** *** *** ***


	6. Zolom X Swamp X Chocobo

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter Five_   
_Zolom × Swamp × Chocobo_   
*** *** *** ***

Airis woke up to a small stream of sun sliding through the tent. She got up and folded the tent up, putting it back in her bag.   
She looked at Aeros who had fallen asleep by the dying embers of the fire. He had a half-smile on his face.   
Airis sighed. _Guys..._ She left him one of her extra collapsible tents.   
Aeros stirred. "Wake up..." Airis muttered checking her bag to make sure Aeros wasn't a thief.   
"Morning sir..." Aeros murmured.   
"What?"   
Aeros suddenly sat up straight and yelled, "GOOD MORNING, SIR!!!"   
"Yeek!"   
"Aww...dammit." Aeros slapped himself on the forehead. "I gotta stop doing that."   
"Why'd you yell that?" Airis asked him.   
"That's something we have to do every morning."   
"Oh." Airis sort of understood. "So, are we going across the swamp?" She pointed in the direction of the swamp. Aeros looked, not remembering what he'd seen the day before.   
"Let's go." They doused the fire and stomped on it, then left.   
As they reached the swamp, Airis grimaced. "It looks gross."   
Aeros stepped in, expecting to sink. He didn't. "It's fine." Airis went in the murky water. They ran across it, not noticing a dark grayish shadow in the water following them. It attacked.   
Airis turned around and shrieked. Behind them was a giant snake-like monster.   
Aeros cursed. Airis aimed a slash from her Buster Sword at the overgrown snake. The monster hissed fiercely, and smacked her with its heavy tail.   
Airis cast Fire on the beast. Aeros cut a few strokes on the monster's body. The snake attacked again and knocked Airis back to the side of the swamp they had just come from. Aeros ran, knowing he couldn't beat this swamp monster.   
Back on land, he knelt over Airis. She was only knocked out, that was good. Aeros picked her up and walked around, hoping to find a place.   
He spotted a farm and hurried towards it. 

***

There were two large yellow birds fenced in near the farm. Aeros looked at them quizzically. He headed to a house on his left.   
Inside, he found an old man dozing in a chair at the table. His arms being full, Aeros nudged the man with his foot. The old man woke up. "Huh? Oh." He took a look at the muck on the lower portion of Aeros' body and Airis. "Zolom gotcha?"   
"What? Zolom? What's that?"   
The old man sighed. "You been in the swamp?"   
"Yeah, that big snake thing-y attacked us."   
"That, boy, is the Zolom. The Midgar Zolom. It tracks prey by the footsteps in the swamp. You'll need Chocobos to get past. They're fast enough. Did you see the two by the fence?"   
Aeros nodded.   
"Go to the barn. Billy and Chole are there. They'll tell you what you need to know. You can leave the girl here and come back when you're done."   
Aeros laid Airis on one of the beds in the adjacent bedroom. He then went to the barn. There was a man there and a woman too. He supposed the man was Billy. "Are you two Billy and Chole?"   
The man looked up. "Choco Billy and Chole? That's us. I'm Billy. She's Chole."   
"I need to get a Chocobo to cross the swamp."   
Choco Billy grinned. "Well, we can't give you the ones by the fence, so you'll have to catch your own. There are some tracks out there. Follow them and you'll probably find a Chocobo. But first, you need a Chocobo Lure Materia."   
"Where do I get one?" Aeros asked.   
"My dad—the old man in the house—sells them."   
Aeros left the barn. 

***

Airis felt an ache in her head. It woke her up. There was an old man sitting across from her. "Feeling better?" He asked kindly.   
"A bit." Airis said. "Where's this?"   
"This..." The man gestured. "...is the Chocobo Farm."   
"Where's Aeros?"   
"Your boyfriend?"   
"He is _not_ my boyfriend!" Airis blushed.   
"Sorry, my mistake." The old man stood up. Here, Aeros ran in. "Do you have the Chocobo Lure?"   
"Yep." The old man said. "2500 Gil."   
Aeros noticed Airis sitting up. "How are you doing?"   
"I'm fine. Just a small headache."   
Aeros paid the old man, who gave him the purple Materia. He ran out of the house again. "What's he doing?" Airis asked.   
"Trying to get a Chocobo."   
"Chocobo?"   
The old man led Airis outside. "These are Chocobos."   
"How cute!" Airis exclaimed.   
A Chocobo warked happily.   
"Wark!" Airis said back. The Chocobo warked in return and dropped a red Materia into her hand.   
"War-ark!" She thanked it.   
"Ark!"   
"Warrrrrrk, wark!"   
"Warkwark! Warrrk!"   
"Wark!"   
Aeros startled Airis, by coming up behind her. "Having fun?"   
"Oh, we were just talking about the weather." She smiled. 

***

"YEAH!" Aeros whooped. "We caught one!!" The Chocobo warked at him.   
"Tsk, tsk. He thinks you're being silly." Airis told Aeros.   
"Who?"   
"Mr. Chocobo, of course."   
Aeros climbed onto the Chocobo. "Wark!" Airis said.   
"Wark-wark!" Mr. Chocobo returned, and they were off. He took them through the swamp, dodging the Zolom. When they were safe on the other side, Airis warked. Mr. Chocobo nodded and ran off. "So these are the Mythril Mines?" Aeros asked.   
"I think so."   
"Let's go." 

*** *** *** ***   
Did you know the real name for the monster is the Midgard Zolom?   
Yeah, the Zolom was a creature... in Norse mythology, I think.


	7. Cave X Fort Condor X Pricilla

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter Six_   
_Cave × Fort Condor × Pricilla_   
*** *** *** ***

They entered the cave. Airis saw glitters here and there along the walls. _Must've been the Mythril._ As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they saw that there was a fork in the cave.   
"I'll go left." Aeros said.   
So Airis took the path to the right. She chopped down the overhanging bats and the path opened up to a small room. There was a sword lying on the rocky cavern floor. She picked it up. _Aeros might be able to use it._   
Back at the fork, Aeros was waiting for her. He handed her a large sword. Airis gave him the one she'd found. "This is a Mythril Saber." Aeros said, turning it over in his hands. "Yours is a Mythril Sword."   
Airis examined the sword. "Did you find the exit?"   
"Hmm..." Aeros looked around. "Back there." He pointed the way they'd come. Airis rolled her eyes.   
Then she saw a shadow. It was darker than the rest of the grayish rock wall. Moving towards it, she found it was an opening in the cave. "Over here."   
It was a dark tunnel. At the end, there was another fork. One led...probably to another room. The other came to a ladder which went up to a ledge and at the ledge was light, which ment the exit.   
"Stay here." Aeros said. He went off to the right and came back a few minutes later with two armlets. "More Mythril." He explained.   
Airis took off her Titan Bangle and clasped the Mythril Armlet in its place. She climbed up the ladder and ran outside. Aeros followed suit.   
Leaving the Mines behind, they saw the top of a blue tower in the south. "Let's go there." Airis said. 

***

The blue tower was called Fort Condor, said the guard when they got there. The old condor had died, and the new one had flown away.   
"Do you know how to cross the sea?" Airis asked him.   
"Nope," The guard answered, "Never been away from here. You'd better ask the Elder. He should know."   
Airis and Aeros found the Elder sitting at a table on the second level. The Elder's eyes widened when he saw them. He reached out and embraced Aeros wth his frail arms. "Cloud, my boy, you came!"   
"Er..." Aeros stepped back. "I'm not Cloud..."   
"Eh?" The Elder took a closer look. "Who are you, boy? You're not Cloud. Cloud was much bigger. Are you his son?"   
_Cloud._ The name clicked. Airis flipped her book to the page on AVALANCHE. "Is this him?"   
"Yep." The Elder smiled. "Saved us from Shinra quite few times back then; see, in those days, Shinra was evil."   
Airis looked at the black and white photo of Cloud, Elena's enemy. She looked at Aeros. "The Elder's right. You two look alike. Do you think...?"   
Aeros shrugged. Airis turned back to the Elder. "Actually... we came to ask if you knew how to cross the sea."   
"Ah... girl, there's a Shinra station by the name of Junon to the northeast. They'll take you across."   
"Thank you." Airis said.   
"Oh, wait a minute, young uns. If you see Cloud, tell him to visit me some time."   
"That we'll do." Airis waved good-bye as they left. 

***

"I'm serious here, Aeros. You and Cloud look exactly the same, except for eyes and hair color. Oh, and he's more muscular."   
"..." Aeros looked down at the ground.   
"Maybe we'll see him somewhere. What do you think?"   
No answer.   
"Fine, be that way."   
They entered Junon. Aeros was immediately barreled down by a girl. "Cloud!!" She looked up at him. "Hey, you're not Cloud!"   
"You know him?" Airis asked the girl.   
"Yeah, he saved Mr. Dolphin!" She answered. "Come with me, I'll show you Mr. Dolphin! I trained him myself!"   
"Pricilla!" A voice shouted from the end of the road. "Don't bother the travelers!"   
"Grandpa~!" Pricilla pouted. "They wanted to see Mr. Dolphin! C'mon!"   
Airis helped Aeros up and they followed the brunette girl down some stairs to a small beach. Pricilla whistled. There came some clicking sounds, and a blue dolphin jumped out of the water. She whistled again. Mr. Dolphin somersaulted in the air thrice and splashed water, drenching the three.   
Airis applauded, and Pricilla whistled twice. Mr. Dolphin ducked his head into the water as if bowing. Then he swam away. "Wow," Airis said. "And you trained him to do all of that?"   
Pricilla nodded.   
Grandpa appeared at the top of the stair. "Pricilla, it's time to go in!"   
"Bye!" Pricilla said to to Airis and Aeros. She ran to her Grandpa and the two of them walked away. 

*** *** *** ***   
They sure meet up with a lot of old men, don't they?


	8. Junon X Drunk X Apart

I really think this and the next chapter both suck, but oh well. 

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter Seven_   
_Junon × Drunk × Apart_   
*** *** *** *** 

Aeros talked to the guard at the end of the road. "Upper Junon?" The man jerked his thumb behind him. "But you have to be from Shinra."   
Aeros stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his ID. The guard's eyes went big. "Yeah, you can pass." He stopped Airis, though. "Who's she?"   
"My sister. I'm taking her to the other continent."   
The guard released Airis.   
In the elevator, Airis asked, "What made you say that?"   
"...Nothing. What, should I have said Grandma?" Aeros teased. The elevator stopped and they stepped into a hall. A window to the side showed them them the dark sky. They went through another door, coming to a street.   
"We should find a place to stay." Walking over to a man standing by a door, Aeros asked. The man grinned and pointed.   
"Up ahead." 

***

Airis sat on the bed, looking around. The hotel was pretty nice.   
"I'm going out for a while," Aeros told her. He left.   
She flopped down and opened the book back to the page on Cloud. _If Cloud's his dad, who's his mom?_ Airis wondered as she read up on AVALANCHE.   
Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, Barret Wallace, Aeris Gainsborough, a specimen named Red XII, Cait Sith, a pilot named Cid Highwind, the Wutaiian ninja Yuffie Kisaragi, and an ex-Turk named Vincent Valentine.   
The picture of the one named Aeris seemed strange. Airis wondered why. She paced the room, and stared into a mirror. Mirror. Airis looked at her reflection and the picture of Aeris. They were the exact same. The hair colors were different, but the eyes were the same.   
"So if this Aeris could be my mother, what about my father? None of these people have silver hair."   
Airis turned out the lights and went to bed. 

***

Aeros sat at the bar. So if Cloud is really my father, then who is my mother? Pondering the unsettling question, he ordered another drink.   
"What's this, your fifth?" The bartender asked. "Aren't you a bit young to be drinking this much?"   
Aeros swore at the bartender.   
"Whatever."   
As he drank, his thoughts became cloudier **(AN: Grr, that pun always keeps coming up!)** and darker. Finally, Aeros left, leaving some Gil on the counter, which in truth was barely enough to cover half of what he drank.   
He walked down the street and throught a tunnel. "You need a ride?" Someone asked him, and not knowing what, Aeros nodded. 

***

Airis stirred. She had a dream about being crushed under falling buildings. Not exactly what to call 'Sweet dreams.'   
It was morning, and she decided to go wake up Aeros.   
In Aeros' room, everything seemed fine. But on second glance...   
"_AEROS!!_" Airis shrieked. 

***

_Where is he?_ She'd checked all possible places. _Where?_   
But maybe... just maybe... 

***

Airis ran down the street. She stopped, gasping for breath. _Aeros..._   
"Funny seeing you here." A hand on her shoulder.   
Rufus.   
"President Rufus! What are you doing here?"   
"I came to check on this place, make sure there's nothing wrong. What were you running for?"   
"I need to cross the sea."   
The man thought a minute. "It left yesterday. But... I think I can get one to take you over." Rufus took out his cell phone. He dialed a number and spoke. After a while, he hung up. "This way." Airis followed him.   
As they walked to the port, Airis asked, "What do you know about AVALANCHE?"   
"The girls in the team are pretty."   
"..."   
"Nothing much these days. They nearly killed me, did you know?"   
"Really?"   
"Come to think of it, you look like one of them... what's her name...the flower girl?"   
"Is it... Aeris?"   
"Yeah, that's her. But according to Reeve, she's dead."   
"Reeve? Is he AVALANCHE?"   
"Sort of."   
Airis tugged impatiently at Rufus' sleeve. "Tell me, how is Reeve 'sort of' AVALANCHE?" She stared at him. Rufus sighed. "Well?"   
"Reeve has a computerized chip in his brain. That connects him to a robotic cat named Cait Sith. Cait Sith is part of AVALANCHE. So, basically Reeve is AVALANCHE, too."   
They reached the port. The ship was there. "Thanks Rufus."   
"No prob. You know my cell number, right? Call me if anything's wrong."   
"'kay." Airis boarded the ship. She waved at Rufus, as the ship left Junon Harbor. 

*** *** *** ***   
Obviously here, Cait/Reeve made no connection between Airis and Aeris.

  



	9. Ship X Costa del Sol X Phone Number

*** *** *** ***   
**AERIS LEGACY**   
_Chapter Eight_   
_Ship × Costa del Sol × Phone Call_   
*** *** *** ***

Airis sat on deck as she watched the sailors at work. _I'm going to call Reeve when we land_, she promised herself.   
Thinking of Reeve led to AVALANCHE, to Cloud, and...Aeros...   
Turning to the sea, to the direction of Junon, she wondered.   
_ Is he there?_   
_ If not, the search was in vain._

***

Aero's mind finally cleared up, as he realized what had happened. "Oh, hell."   
He ran down to the port. "Hey!" He yelled at a sailor, "Can you get me back across the ocean?"   
"Nope. Sorry, kid."   
Aeros turned towards Junon, where Airis was.   
_ Will she be able to find me?_

***

The ship sailed into the harbor at Costa del Sol. Airis got off the ship. "Phone Reeve, phone Reeve..." She took her pink phone out of her pocket. A sudden thought struck her. "What's Reeve's number?" 

***

On board, Aeros ran a hand through the spikes on his head. "How the f*** am I supposed to explain this?" Leaning over the rail, he stared into the water, as if it would somehow answer. 

***

She came up with a 'brilliant' idea. Airis dialed Elena's cell. After two rings, Elena picked up. "Hello?"   
"Hi Mom."   
*Airis?*   
"Yup. Hey, can you give me Reeve's number, or put him on the line?"   
*I guess. I'll go find him. How are you doing?*   
"Fine." Airis decided no to mention Aeros.   
*Oh, here he is.* Airis heard Elena call out Reeve's name. A man's voice came over. *Hello? Reeve here.*   
"Hi, it's Airis. I was wondering if you could give me some info on the group AVALANCHE, since you're basically part of it."   
*Depends.*   
Airis sighed as she walked down towards the beach. "Whatever. I need stuff on Cloud Strife and Aeris Gainsborough."   
*Airis, they didn't have a child. And Aeris died.*   
"I saw her picture last night, and she happened to look like me, so..." Airis sat down in the white sand and put her bag down.   
There was silence at the other end. "Reeve? Anyone there?"   
*Uh, yeah, I'm still here. Airis, you're right. Don't know how I never noticed it before. Now that I think about it, you two are exact matches. But I still can't see how it's possible.*   
"Well, then...Can I see Cloud?"   
*Um... I don't know. He's really busy. But I think if you can get to Rocket Town, you can talk to him.*   
"Rocket Town..."   
*Airis, I have a meeting in two minutes. I'm pretty sure you can find the place. I'm giving the phone back to Elena, okay?*   
Airis dipped her toes in the sea water as the phone made it's transition. *So, Airis, what have you been doing so far?*   
"I made it to the second continent. Currently I'm at Costa del Sol. I'll be heading towards the mountains."   
*That's fast. Well, I have to run too. Call again.*   
"Bye." Airis hung up. She had the rest of the day. Could probably make it through those mountains. As she picked up her bag, she noticed a folded piece of paper attached to it. Unfolding it, she read:   
Airis:   
I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday.   
I swear I didn't leave on purpose.   
Truth to tell, I was thinking about what you said.   
About Cloud being my father.   
It's a strange thought for me.   
Anyway, I realized you realized I crossed over.   
Meet me on the bridge from the port.   
Aeros 

PS: I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really,   
really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really,   
really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really,   
really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really sorry.   
(And I mean it)   
Airis folded up the note. She went up the stairs and looked across the square. 

*** *** *** ***   
I swear, the part where Aeros apologizes is seriously going to suck.   
This chapter does too, but as they travel on, it gets WAY better.


End file.
